If a journal gets accepted it into the Medline database, it is viewed with significantly more legitimacy. It follows then that your academic CV is better regarded if your publications appear in journals which are listed on Medline. Plus, it’s just fun to see your name listed in Pubmed when you search yourself! Hmm, that sounded more egotistical than I intended, especially since I don’t have that many publications on Medline…
Nothing frustrates me more than not being able to obtain intravenous access in hemodynamically unstable patients, especially because I give a talk on “Troubleshooting the Difficult Vascular Access Patient.”
Recently on my ED shifts, there were several especially challenging endotracheal intubation scenarios.
Dr. John Brown is the well-known (infamous?) Medical Director of the San Francisco EMS Agency — not a small task or for the weak of heart. He also practices at SF General Hospital and manages to keep level-headed in the midst of chaos. I’m constantly impressed by his clinical and political saaviness. You would never know how big of name he is when you meet him. Totally humble and understated, especially given all that he’s done for the city and our specialty.
Do you feel like you are routinely checking various websites to follow up on recent journal publications, reading blogs, catching up on the news? What’s new in Annals of EM or Academic EM? What’s on today’s CNN or EducationPR blogs?
I’m a firm believer that technology should make things streamlined and easier, rather than creating more steps and hassles. I recently discovered online RSS readers on the web. If you don’t have one, you should get one.
In various ACEP News Tricks of the Trade columns, I have mentioned the importance of adequate lighting to visualize subtle injuries or pathologies. Traditional room overhead lighting is insufficient, especially if you are looking for that needle-in-a-haystack laceration in thick scalp hair or a tiny foreign body in a wound.
If you are using a traditional Tungsten penlight, you need to invest in a LED light source. LED penlights are very small (can fit on a keychain), super-bright, long-lasting, and costs only $3-30.